Lately, there’s been a rise of apps offered to help you manage your personal finances. There are various types of apps and options to choose from. Whether you merely want to work on budgeting, keep track of your credit score, or begin investing, you have plenty of apps to check out. However, many people question whether or not these apps are actually worth it, especially investing apps. Is your information secure? Are you wasting money? Will you see any kind of return? I’d like to examine whether or not investing apps actually benefit the user.
The concerns about them
One of the main issues surrounding investment apps is the security of them. When you create an investment portfolio with a recognized bank or investment company, you must go through layers of security every time you want to do anything, even if it’s simply transferring money into an account. With investment apps, it doesn’t seem as though there’s as much security. Many people are also wary of putting their information online, so creating a new account with an app seems like the perfect way to have your account information compromised. While this concern is completely understandable, all of the popular investment apps have layers of cybersecurity, very similar to that of a banking website. Many apps also guarantee insurance for accounts up to a hundred thousand dollars, so if you’re below that number, you’d still be able to recover all of your money.
Another concern is whether or not the apps are worth the cost. Some of them charge high trading fees or have regular monthly fees, which can seem like a waste of money, especially when you’re trying to grow your wealth. The answer to this issue is a little murkier than the last. While you should certainly be investing your money in some way, it’s up to you what app you choose. Research the fees associated with each app and learn what different keywords mean, such as how much the app charges per trade. Decide how much you’ll be planning on investing into these accounts and whether or not regular fees are worth it.
Benefits of investing apps
One of the greatest benefits of investing apps is how most of them are designed for beginners to use. Many people do not have the first clue about investing and the best practices for it, so these apps have been designed with this issue in mind. Most investing apps are relatively simple to use once you take some time to play around with them. Some even offer blogs and other tips to help you with investment decisions. Still others offer you direct assistance from a financial advisor.
Another great benefit of investment apps is that you can open an account with relatively small amounts of money. You can start investing spare change or a few dollars and grow your portfolio. For younger investors, this feature is great, especially since many traditional investment companies require you to have a minimum of a few thousand dollars to invest upfront.
How to make them work for you
Finally, if you decide you do want to get into the world of investing and an app on your phone is the best option for you, there are ways to make sure you make the most of it. The best thing you can do is take your time and research the various apps. Check out blogs that focus on investing, financial advice, and financial apps to see what expert opinions are on the different apps and decide which one best fits your needs.